Mar 9, 2019
The Prisoner: Free For All (1.4, ITC, 1967)
"Unlike me, many of you have accepted the situation of your imprisonment and will die here like rotten cabbages."
"Keep going, they love it."
"The rest of you have gone over to the side of our keepers. Which is which? How many of each? Who's standing beside you now? I intend to discover who are the prisoners and who the warders. I shall be running for office in this election."
#the prisoner#the prisoner rewatch#classic tv#itc#1967#free for all#patrick mcgoohan#eric portman#rachel herbert#george benson#harold berens#kenneth benda#angelo muscat#fenella fielding#john cazabon#dene cooper#holly doone#peter brace#alf joint#directed and written (under a pseudonym) by mcgoohan himself this is the series at it's most avant garde yet and probably the weirdest it#gets outside of the finale (also written and directed by mcgoohan). when i first watched these as a kid i didn't like this episode#all that much. i found it frustrating and difficult. it's still frustrating and difficult but i can appreciate it more now. it's a jarring#unnerving searing bit of commentary on the political process. it's also one of the twistiest episodes where its#hard to keep a handle always on what exactly is going on. a very nightmarish feel in some scenes and others feel like a visual#translation of madness. the scenes in which n.6 is brainwashed into being cheery and helpful are unsettling as is his#gradual breakdown to his previous difficult self. mcgoohan is excellent throughout and porter makes for a fine n.2. but the standout here#is lovely rachel herbert. her transformation from the cheery bright non english speaking helper to (spoiler)#one of the coldest and most frightening n.2's in the entire show is an acting masterclass. she's brilliant. just watch her eyes as the#pretence drops and she goes from being n.58 to n.2. not a word spoken (except the creepy repetition of 'tic tic') but her eyes harden#and grow colder and her whole face changes. its brilliant a brilliant performance. as far as the series goes little information is gleaned
